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hi.

i’m hankyeol lee.

but you can call me hanky.


i am a south korean / south african multidisciplinary artist and filmmaker, based in johannesburg, south africa.

as an artist who exists within and navigates liminal spaces between identity, race and citizenry, i am particularly intrigued by topics of migration, fractured identity and belonging. more importantly, story and art as a connecting bridge, that touches the internal and external, the liminal and the central, the old and the new. i am preoccupied with finding intimacy and vulnerability, amidst the tensions and strictures of modern existence.



filmography

BABY JACKFRUIT BABY GUAVA (2026 - editor) is my second feature-length documentary film working with first-time director, Nông Nhật Quang. sifting through 8 years of Nông intimately recording his family, i co-edited this film with vietnamese editor, Linh Nguyễn. the film premiered at the 2026 Visions Du Réel Festival in the Burning Lights competition, where it received the special jury award, and has since travelled to many film festivals including Camden International Film Festival and Busan International Film Festival. when an unplanned baby nicknamed Guava enters the lives of conservative mother Cúc, troubled daughter Mai, and detached gay son Nông, the trio travels back in time through their family diaries and photos. With his first film, Nông creates a time capsule for Guava, in which mending ruptured bonds and preparing for a new cycle of motherhood will hopefully help acceptance prevail.

MILISUTHANDO (2023 - editor and cinematographer), my first feature-length documentary working with first-time director and writer, Milisuthando Bongela, which premiered at the 2023 Sundance Festival as a contender in the world cinema documentary category. set in past, present, and future south africa — MILISUTHANDO is an invitation into a poetic, memory-driven exploration of love, intimacy, race, and belonging by Milisuthando Bongela, who grew up during apartheid but didn't know it was happening until it was over.

I WANT TO SEE FOR MYSELF (2019 - editor and cinematographer), a short documentary about the complex legacy of tennis hero, Arthur Ashe, and the tennis centre he erected in soweto, south africa at the height of apartheid.

BROR (2015 - director), a short documentary about two 80-year old brothers, facing life and death together, in the isolated village of porkkala, finland.

i am a graduate of the university of the witwatersrand, and have also lectured cinematography at the wits school of film and tv.